A blood test can predict actual age of human body

To detect food allergies, physicians typically use skin prick tests or blood tests that measure levels of allergen-specific IgE (sIgE), a protein made by the immune system.

Kounteya.Sinha

LONDON: British scientists have discovered a simple new molecular blood test which can now predict the actual age of the human body, different from chronological age. According to a team from King's College London, looking at "biological age" is more useful and accurate than using a date of birth in predicting the rate of ageing in a human being.

Scientists are looking at biological age as a real predictor of healthy life. They say that a person who is 40 years of age might have a body of an 80-year-old due to poor lifestyle and vice versa. The new test looks for an ageing signature in our body's cells by comparing the behaviour of 150 different genes.

It was developed by initially comparing 54,000 markers of gene activity in healthy but largely sedentary 25 and 65-year-olds and then bringing them down to a final 150. Rather than looking for genes associated with disease or extreme longevity, the researchers discovered that the 'activation' of 150 genes in the blood, brain and muscle tissue were a hallmark of good health at 65. The researchers were then able to create a reproducible formula for 'healthy aging', and use this to tell how well a person is aging when compared to others born the same year.

The findings provide the first practical and accurate test for the rate at which individual bodies are aging.

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